Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc is “miles ahead” of the field at the Monaco Grand Prix, world champion Max Verstappen said after Friday’s practice.
Leclerc set the pace during his home race in the second training session, ahead of Lewis Hamilton.
He was fast during both sessions and finished the day 0.188 seconds ahead of the Mercedes.
Hamilton’s teammate George Russell echoed Verstappen’s assessment, saying Leclerc was “well in front”.
Hamilton added that it was the “best day we’ve had on track” as Mercedes looked more competitive than usual.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was third fastest, 0.475 seconds off the pace, while Verstappen finished an unlucky fourth.
The world champion, who complained that his car was “bouncing like a kangaroo”, was 0.535 seconds off his pace and even slightly touched the barriers at Portier.
The incident caused no damage to his car, but for the second race in a row Red Bull appeared to be struggling with pace.
McLaren’s Lando Norris, who pushed Verstappen hard for victory in Imola last weekend and won the race before that in Miami, was fifth fastest, 0.675 seconds off the pace, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz sixth.
Lance Stroll’s second Aston Martin finished seventh, ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, Williams’ Alex Albon and Russell, who suffered from steering vibration all day.
Hamilton said: “The car felt really positive and I really enjoyed driving it. We still have some challenges with the balance, but I looked strong.
“What was a surprise was the grip level and how the car reacted here. Definitely a more fun ride than we’ve had here the last two years.”
However, Hamilton said Mercedes “still has a lot of work to do” in terms of race pace as he struggled with tire grain, which cracks the surface and loses grip.
But as always in Friday training, there were a number of variables that made it difficult to predict the form.
Red Bull was struggling with ride problems. Both drivers complained that the car reacted poorly to the bumps on the streets of Monaco.
“Very difficult,” said Verstappen. “It’s not something I didn’t expect, but it’s certainly at the upper end of the worst possible outcome of the weekend so far.
“It’s just very difficult. There are a lot of bumps, curbs and camber changes in the track and for us that is actually impossible to tolerate. Every time we go over it we lose a lot of lap time just because the car isn’t driving well. There is also no real clear direction or solution to solve something like this.”
Red Bull also struggled during Friday practice at the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix last weekend before Verstappen took pole and won the race, albeit ultimately under pressure from Norris.
But Verstappen said: “Imola was completely different: different problems that you can solve with the set-up. These things you can’t fix with the set-up because the car is designed that way and there are things you can’t change overnight, so we’re kind of stuck with it.
“We will try to make it a little better, but I don’t expect miracles. Ferrari is miles ahead, so I don’t even think about that, I just want to solve the problems we have.”
Leclerc said: “On the medium tire we were very strong. On the soft surface we had difficulty getting everything in order. There was a lot of traffic. But for now we have a good car. I have quite a bit of confidence in the car.
“But as Monaco is now, I might have taken a little more risk than the others and it paid off. But it’s all about tomorrow, when everyone pushes their limits. So far we have done very well and we have to keep working, but it is a positive first day.”
McLaren’s true pace is difficult to judge as Norris has only used one set of soft tires all day, which he ran in the first session and again in the second session. His qualifying simulation for his fastest time of the day was therefore on less effective tires than those of other teams.
Hamilton used the same tire strategy, but his tire deficit to Leclerc on new tires was compensated by running later, while the seven-time champion would have benefited from the improved track grip.
Norris’ teammate Oscar Piastri, second fastest in the first session on soft tyres, did not run the fastest rubber at all in the second session and finished twelfth.
Verstappen was one of a number of drivers to pass the barriers – including his teammate Sergio Perez at Massenet, Stroll and Pierre Gasly’s Alpine at the Swimming Pool – without major damage, although Stroll did not rejoin the session after returning to the session. potholes.
